Utah Jazz notes: Trey Burke, Jeremy Evans make season debuts

Utah Jazz point guard Trey Burke (3) goes to the basket in front of New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis (23) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013.

Gerald Herbert, AP

Summary

Trey Burke hadn’t seen action since Oct. 12 when he broke his right index finger in what he called “a freak accident” in Utah’s third preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

“I think that’s the biggest thing for me, learning the pace, learning when to attack, learning when to set the offense up.”

Jazz point guard Trey Burke

NEW ORLEANS — The moment Utah Jazz fans have anxiously awaited since management pulled off a surprising trade on Draft Night in June finally happened.

In a surprise, Trey Burke, the 2013 NCAA Player of the Year, made his NBA debut Wednesday night at New Orleans Arena.

Burke hadn’t seen action since Oct. 12 when he broke his right index finger in what he called “a freak accident” in Utah’s third preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Moments after Wednesday morning's shootaround session, Burke exuded excitement as he spoke with reporters in advance of his first official professional showing.

“I’m ready to go,” he said.

The 6-1 point guard, who led Michigan to the 2013 NCAA championship game, had surgery three days after hitting Chris Paul while making a pass. He had pins inserted into his shooting hand to repair the fracture.

Burke has been rehabbing since, gradually being allowed to do more. He was able to go through a full-contact practice Tuesday for the first time before the Jazz left for their three-game road trip. After that full-speed workout, the team announced that Burke and forward Jeremy Evans would not play against New Orleans.

That changed Wednesday morning when Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin and the training staff deemed that both players had progressed to the point they could play. Burke was scheduled for a re-evaluation Monday.

“I’m extremely excited,” Corbin said.

The Jazz had major issues with the point guard position in Burke’s absence.

Veteran John Lucas III, who started Wednesday, hasn’t clicked consistently with the offense or found a good shooting rhythm this season.

Utah signed veteran Jamaal Tinsley two weeks after Burke’s injury to bolster the position. But the 35-year-old struggled to be effective in his second stint with the Jazz and was waived last Tuesday after a 2½-week stint.

The Jazz also signed 25-year-old Diante Garrett from the D-League, and he’s had a mixture of moments when he’s looked smooth and erratic.

Corbin said he’ll “ease” Burke back into the rotation, and the 21-year-old will have unspecified time limitations as he works his way back. The better he feels and plays, the more time he'll see.

Burke smiled and called it “awkward” to make his NBA debut in the 13th game of the 2013-14 season.

Burke said he learned two primary things while sitting out for nearly six weeks: pace and confidence. He said that was lacking when he struggled during summer league.

"I think that’s the biggest thing for me, learning the pace, learning when to attack, learning when to set the offense up," Burke said. "Just watching guys like Tony Parker and Deron Williams, Jrue Holiday, some of the top guards and just seeing that pace and having that opportunity of seeing the game from the coach’s perspective. I think that’s definitely helped me out a lot."

Burke noticed that those elite playmakers brought extra attitude to the court, too.

"Just seeing the confidence in other guys, seeing some of the confidence in some of the other best players. Seeing how they go out there and they’re not worried about nothing, they’re just focused and they know the scouting report," he said. "I think that’s the biggest thing from not being able to play. There’s always lessons you can learn. There's always areas you can grow in, and I think that I've grown."

Popular Comments

Alec Burks head is about to implode. You can see he is a mental mess. He
overdribbles and turns the ball over almost every time he touches it. Its
painful to watch.

Haywards shooting so far this season is absolutely
horrible and last
More..

10:17 a.m. Nov. 21, 2013

Top comment

forgetyourself

Layton, UT

Jazz should hire Matt Harpring as the new head Coach.

8:18 p.m. Nov. 21, 2013

Top comment

fortydam

OREM, UT

Jazz Source. Promise to change the offense too? If we get a new coach do we get
a new offense. What will they run for a bunch of twenty year olds? Please not
Jerry Sloan, same offense, same players. I'm afraid starting over with
these kids will
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Jody is a sports writer who covers the Utah Jazz for the Deseret News (yeah, rough life). He also writes about his fitness/health journey and triathlon exploits in his "Losing It!" column. He has been with the paper since more ..